Frame Sliders Tech

Helping You Choose the Right Frame Sliders

So you have decided to purchase a set of frame sliders, swing arm spools, bar ends or whatever the part may be or whatever the name it is a manufacturer calls it. The bottom line is you are thinking about protecting your bike. Now that you have decided to protect your investment there is the daunting task of trying to figure what company to buy from. With all the branding out there, different styles to different materials, it can seem overwhelming.

The Frame Slider Choice is Yours!

On this page we are not out to bash one product over another (we will leave that up to others who feel the need to do that). What we want to accomplish here, is to make your decision making a little easier. The more knowledge you have the better educated you will be when making your final decision.

Common Materials of Frame Sliders

Lets first talk about the different materials that are out on the market right now and some of the reasons they are being used. You have probably heard the terms Delrin, Acetal, Nylon and even Aluminum used when discussing bike saving parts such as frame sliders. So what are they and what are some of the differences?

Well to start out, the appearance of the parts being produced are one of the major deciding factors in what product people buy for their bike. While we understand this and always keep this into consideration when designing out parts, there are some other things to consider as well. Lets take Aluminum for instance. It can be brightly polished, anodized (meaning coloring the aluminum), powder coated and engraved. The aluminum products on the market today (as far as bike protection) add more of a custom look than they do than act as proper protection. In the event of a "tip-over" they will provide adequate protection. However in a higher speed crash Aluminum tends to "grab" or "bite" in the concrete or asphalt or most any surface you may be riding on. So what does that mean? Well, to be right to the point, that means that the slider, spool or bar end wont "slide" across the surface as easily, the key word here is easily, they can still slide, as well as they can provide enough protection. This means it can cause excess damage to your bike, if there are sudden bursts of grabbing, it may and very well could send your bike into a flip, well lets just say that’s not something you want.

Not All Motorcycle Crashes are the Same

Crashes are unique and the end result is not the same from crash to crash. So if you hear people talking about their crash compared to someone else’s and the fortune or misfortune they had with a particular part, may not be the same for you or for the next person.

Frame Sliders – The Plastics Comparison

Next on the list is Delrin/Acetal and Nylon. We have narrowed down the "plastics" out on the market to these as we feel these are the two most common plastics manufacturers are using, and the most talked about for use in crash saving frame sliders, swing arm spools and bar ends. As you can see from the list there are numbers for and against each type of plastic. After looking over the table you are probably no better off now than you were before you came across this page. So what do these numbers mean?

There are three main reasons we chose the Acetal plastic to use as our frame sliders, swingarm spools and bar ends. The compressive strength, impact strength and deformation under load. The Acetal out performs in these categories over the Nylons listed in the chart. We felt that the impact to compression to deformation are the most common "actions" that happen in a crash, and typically in that order. With Acetal/Delrin out performing Nylon in these categories we decided to manufacture our products with this material. Now keep in mind that there are places where Nylon outperforms as well, and people will, and do, argue Nylon is better.

Plastics vs. Aluminum as Frame Sliders

So Delrin/Acetal/Nylon compared to Aluminum, the major difference here is that these plastics tend to "slide" better than the Aluminum, therefore in theory should reduce the "flip" factor caused by a frame slider, swing arm spool or even bar ends. BUT, that doesn’t mean a slider or spool or bar end made from plastic will remove this excessive damage from happening in a crash. What we are trying to do is reduce the chances of it happening by providing a product made out material with properties that lie in that favor.

Property

Units

Nylon MD & MDS

Nylon 6 or Nylatron, Unfilled®

Nylon NSM

Nylon GSM

Delrin®
Acetal

Water
Absorption (24 Hours)

%

1.2

1.2

0.25

1.2

0.25

Water
Absorption (Saturation)

%

6.5

9

7

6.5

0.9

Tensile
Strength

PSI

12,500

12,400

11,000

12,500

10,000

Flexural
Strength (73° F)

PSI

16,400

14,000

16,000

16,400

14,300

Compressive
Strength (10% Deflection)

PSI

10,000

12,000

14,000

10,000

18,000

Shear
Strength (73° F)

PSI

11,000

9,600

10,000

11,000

9,500

Impact
Strength, Notched Izod

Ft-Lbs/In.

.8-1.0

1.2

0.5

.8-1.0

1.5

Property

Units

Nylon MD & MDS

Nylon 6 or Nylatron, Unfilled®

Nylon NSM

Nylon GSM

Delrin®
Acetal

Elongation
at Break (73 °F)

PSI

400,000

400,000

410,000

400,000

450,000

Flexural
Modulus of Elasticity (73 °F)

PSI

400,000

410,000

475,000

400,000

425,000

Hardness
– Rockwell & Burnell (73 °F)

Various
Scales

R120

R120

R110

R120

R120

Density

Lbs/cubic
Inch

0.041

0.0415

0.0415

0.0418

0.051

Coefficient
of Friction (Dynamic)

None

0.35

0.35

0.18

0.35

0.25

Wear
Factor (K)

In-min/Ft-Lbs-Hr

8

72

83

216

Limiting
PV

PSI/FPM

3,000

2,700

12,300

3,000

2,700

Property

Units

Nylon MD & MDS

Nylon 6 or Nylatron, Unfilled®

Nylon NSM

Nylon GSM

Delrin®
Acetal

Abrasion
Resistance Index

None

–

54

–

–

137

Coefficient
of Linear Thermal Expansion

In/In/F

5.0×105

5.0×105

5.9×103

5.0×105

5.0×105

Continous
Service Temperature – in Air (max.)

F

212

212

200

212

180

Deflection
Temperature (264 PSI)

F

200

194

200

200

260

Melting
Point

F

430

491

420

430

347

Deformation
Under Load (2000 PSI, 122 °F)

%

0.75

2

–

0.75

0.6

Dielectric
Strength

Volts/Mil

550

400

–

550

380

Property

Units

Nylon MD & MDS

Nylon 6 or Nylatron, Unfilled®

Nylon NSM

Nylon GSM

Delrin®
Acetal

Dielectric
Constant (1 kHz)

None

3.7

4.1

–

3.7

3.7

Dielectric
Constant (1MHz)

None

3.7

4

–

3.7

3.7

Dielectric
Constant (60 Hz)

None

3.7

3.4

–

3.7

3.7

Frame Sliders Conclusion

This debate will never end until there is technology that makes it to the market in an affordable price to use to make the sliders, spools or bar ends out of.

Appearance or Function for your Frame Sliders

As we said earlier the appearance of the products is still a major deciding factor, this is where we feel we are a leader in the market today. Now you can feel confident purchasing from KOS Racing knowing we do manufacture all of our products in house! And do research on the products we develop. We offer all of our products in a wide range of color choices to help add that custom look to your bike.